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Georgia: Government, opposition and external players
By: Turkish Weekly, March 26, 2009
The internal political tension in Georgia is rapidly growing and the political crisis becomes deeper. The tough stance of the authorities, who have laid down clear conditions on which they agree to carry on a dialogue with the extra-parliamentary opposition (negotiating only socioeconomic issues and the electoral code), naturally predetermined a tough agenda of the opposition's actions. The opposition demands that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili resign immediately.
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Freedom Day: Opposition rally in Belarus
By: Charter 97, March 25, 2009
Hundreds of riot militia officers armed with batons were thrown against peaceful Belarusians, who came to celebrate Freedom Day. People weren't allowed to go the city centre. One of the organisers of the rally, a deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front party Viktar Ivashkevich, called upon participants of the rally to disband. People started to break up. However, about 500 participants are still left near the Independence Avenue. They chant "Long live Belarus!" and are holding national flags. However, it is clear that the rally on Freedom Day is coming to an end.
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Belarus: Dictatorship's scare
By: Charter 97, March 25, 2009
Thousands of armed soldiers of the interior troops were brought in Minsk on March 25. On the day when the country was celebrating the anniversary of the Belarusian National Republic proclamation, the authorities in fact imposed a state of emergency in the capital.
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Georgia: Arrest targets ex-Rose Revolution leader's party
By: Giorgi Lomsadze, Eurasia Net, March 25, 2009
With three weeks to go before a planned protest against Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, government allegations of illegal weapons purchases and coup conspiracy are zeroing in on the opposition party headed by former Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze. The allegations, adamantly denied by Burjanadze, have kindled public fears of civil strife.
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Georgian opposition reeling from videos
By: Ellen Barry and Olesya Vartanyan, IHT, March 25, 2009
The Georgian authorities Wednesday made public surveillance video in which a political activist associated with the opposition leader Nino Burjanadze said Ms. Burjanadze and her followers were hoping that violent clashes with the authorities would force President Mikheil Saakashvili from office.
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Belarusian dissident warns against ties with regime
By: RFE, March 24, 2009
After weeks of fierce debate, the EU has decided to include Belarus in an outreach plan for ex-Soviet states. But a leader of Belarus' pro-democracy movement told RFE/RL that Europe is "capitulating before a dictator" and urged the EU to include civil society groups in its negotiations with President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
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